"Pie Club" Is the Best Idea We've Heard in a Really Long Time

What happens in Pie Club, stays in Pie Club. Yes, another pilfering of the famed Las Vegas slogan that seems to capture our very human inclination toward naughty secrets.

Pie Club is not Vegas, however. It's a special weekly social hour at my former employer (an unnamed museum in another state -- see, I'm good at keeping those secrets). Membership is limited and selective -- your ability to follow the above-mentioned mantra is key as well as your willingness to share, shall we say, inter-office information. And pie.

Get the rest of the story after the jump.

Meetings were casual, bring-your-own-lunch style, with each member rotating turns to be in charge of Pie. It is a noble task and most took it to heart, delving into the depths of the pie-recipe archives to come up with something no one else had made. Competition added a spark to the festivities as did fitting one's Pie to a particular theme or holiday (perhaps March 14th, International Pi p Day). Occasionally, the nearest grocer was the pie-maker, but that was usually because those elite Pie Agents were busy folks, after all.

This all (still) occurs at a museum which is, by nature, full of creative people, so the variety of fillings was as engaging as the performance of serving the pie. One member has an annual ice cream-based concoction that is assembled in front of the group.

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Other interesting selections during my time in Pie Club included Kentucky Derby Pie, Chocolate Chess Pie, French Apple Pie (which involves crème fraise and dried fruit), a cacophony of fruit pies, butternut squash pie, and even the occasional veer off-course with a luscious chocolate bundt cake -- the specialty of Pie Club's Grand Dame and hostess (who, naturally, shall remain nameless to protect her identity).

We always brought two pies each, often two different types, per Pie Club meeting to satisfy the whole crowd. It was fun to see what everyone chose and, not to be sexist, but the guys were consistently in the "I'll take both" category.

Pie Club was an idea pinched from a former staff member's husband's office, so there seems to be no reason you can't steal the idea, too. Gather your most creative, covert co-workers and get out the cookbooks! There really is nothing like finishing off lunch with a slice of pie -- topped with some gossip.

Amy Silverman is managing editor at Phoenix New Times. She's worked at the paper since 1993 and her work has also appeared in the New York Times and on the radio show This American Life. Her book My Heart Can't Even Believe It: A Story of Science, Love, and Down Syndrome was published in 2016.